MP will introduce the
Criminal Cases Review (Public Petition) Bill tomorrow, Wednesday
25 June, in the House of Commons. This Bill is being dubbed
“Lucy's Bill” in reference to the ludicrous detention of Lucy
Connolly, which has led to the introduction of this draft
legislation.
Several weeks ago, the Reform UK MP for Boston and Skegness
secured a Ten-Minute Rule Motion slot, which allows Members of
Parliament to introduce legislation of their choice. Tice,
who is Reform's Deputy Leader, believes this legislation is
absolutely necessary, and even though there is little chance it
will succeed, he hopes that the Government will listen.
Reform UK Deputy Leader MP said:
"Lucy's Bill has arisen because of the two-tier justice that now
exists in the United Kingdom. This has made Lucy Connolly a
political prisoner.
"Whilst not interfering with the judicial system or the
judgement, in cases of clearly wrong sentencing, following on
from a judgement, having a triple-check sanity review mechanism,
triggered by 500 members of the public of any sentence passed, is
a sensible safeguard.
"I visited Lucy Connolly in prison on Tuesday (24th June), and
whilst she appears to be a model prisoner, generally, with good
conditions, I was very concerned that last Thursday, for no
apparent reason, she was brutally forced to the ground by many
prison officers, tightly handcuffed and then dragged up three
flights of stairs. The bruising is still significant five days
on. She was then put on a totally inappropriate wing for her
situation.
"Lucy has not been granted any rights to temporary leave on
compassionate grounds, and regrettably, she is the victim of
political intervention in our justice system."
James Bogle BL, a barrister of 10 King's Bench Walk,
said:
"The sentence in the case of Lucy Connolly was manifestly
excessive.
"The maximum sentence for affray and violent disorder are less
than the maximum for Lucy's offence. That is irrational.
Perpetrators of far more serious crimes have been given much
lower sentences than Lucy.
"Worse, hers was described as being at the more serious end of
the scale as if she had been out in the streets actively
encouraging a mob to threaten life rather than sending a mere
tweet.
"When sentences begin to defy the common sense of the ordinary
person, then the criminal justice system risks falling into
serious disrepute."
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- is the MP for Boston and
Skegness and the Deputy Leader of Reform UK
- James Bogle is a senior member of the Civil and Disciplinary
and Regulatory Teams in Chambers at 10 King's Bench Walk, Middle
Temple.
- The Criminal Cases Review (Public Petition) Bill is being
introduced using the 10 Minute Rule, a mechanism for Backbenchers
to introduce legislation to the House of Commons.
- A briefing on the Bill is copied below.
Criminal Cases Review (Public Petition) Bill, 2025 -
Briefing
This Bill would allow provision for the general public to
petition the Criminal Cases Review Commission to review sentences
that the petitioners believe to be either too harsh or too
lenient; to make provision about the review of such sentences; to
make provision about the referral of such cases to the Court of
Appeal or the Supreme Court.
This legislation would apply to any adult British citizen aged 18
or over
(a) that the sentencing of a person in a proceeding in the Crown
Court has been unduly lenient or unduly harsh; and
(b) that the case is one to which section 1 of this Bill applies
The petitioner may refer the case to the Criminal Cases Review
Commission for them to review the sentencing of the person
sentenced, in accordance with section 3 below, and if the
Commission refers the case to the Court of Appeal, upon such a
reference, the Court of Appeal may - quash any sentence passed on
the person sentenced. In place of it, pass such sentence as they
think appropriate for the case and as the court below had power
to pass when dealing with the person sentenced, provided that the
petitioner has filed the reference with the Commission on the
form attached at schedule 1 of this Act signed by at least 500
signatures including his own.
No judge shall sit as a member of the Court of Appeal on the
hearing of, or shall determine any application in proceedings
incidental or preliminary to, a reference under this section of a
sentence passed by himself.
The current legislation is the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS)
scheme, which allows anyone to request that certain Crown Court
sentences be reviewed by the Attorney General's Office if they
think the sentence is too lenient. However, no such lever is
available to those with unduly severe sentences, such as Lucy
Connolly, for example.
According to the ULS scheme, if the Attorney General or Solicitor
General considers the sentence appears unduly lenient, they can
ask the Court of Appeal to review the sentence. Under the current
mechanisms, it is only the prosecution which can appeal to the
scheme. This is grossly unfair.
